Dooling: 'I won't be returning this season'

Former Celtics guard Keyon Dooling, who currently serves as a player development coordinator within the organization, announced via Twitter that he will not be returning to play for the team this season.

Hey everyone thank you for all the love and support that you guys give me daily.FYI I won’t be returning this season #StayTuned[1] @celticslife[2]

“We don’t have anything on the trade cooker. We weren’t going to trade Rondo,” Ainge told the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy. “But I’m not going to bring someone in now who is just going to sit on the bench. We could sign a couple of players to minimum contracts, but that’s all we can do right now. We have to see whether someone becomes available through trade or free agency who can actually crack our rotation.”

It’s unclear whether Dooling could have returned, even if both parties agreed, after the Celtics waived him prior to his retirement before training camp in October. Here’s how NBA salary cap guru Larry Coonexplains it[7].

There’s nothing binding about a player announcing his retirement. The player can still sign a new contract and continue playing (if he’s not under contract), or return to his team (if he is still under contract) and resume his career.

The only exception to this is when a player is still under contract, wants to quit, and his team doesn’t want to let him out of his contract. Under these circumstances the player can file for retirement with the league. The player is placed on the league’s Voluntarily Retired list, forgoes his remaining salary, and cannot return to the league for one year.